Formal Letters

Letters
• Letter is an important channel of communication used to send information
outside an organisation.
• Letter is used for professional exchanging of ideas, opinions and
information.
• There are 2 types of letters- personal/informal letter and
business/formal letters.
• A personal letter is an informal letter in the form of a private dialogue,
where the writer wants to say something and expects a response to the
message.
• The writer is free to choose any style or pattern while writing the content.
• The quintessential feature of a personal letter is that it will have a
“PERSONAL TOUCH AND FEEL”, which will make it different from a
formal/official letter. Eggs: Nehru’s letters to his daughter or M.K.
Gandhi’s letters to his followers.
 Steps in Letter Writing process
• Unlike a personal letter, a formal letter will be written in a conventional
format. It will follow a set pattern and specific style.
A letter to the Principal, a letter to the HR or a complaint letter are some
of the examples FOR A FORMAL LETTER.
Three steps in Letter Writing process
1) Prewriting- the writer who writes the letter should ask these questions:
a) Who is my reader? b) Why am I writing? C) How much should I write? D)
What do I want the reader to do?
2) Writing- the writer has to organise the matter, outlining what needs to be
written.
3) Post-writing- the writer should try to edit the letter by checking for its
grammar, spelling, punctuation, format and sentence structure.
 Parts of a Business letter
• 1. Sender’s address (FROM)
• 2. Date
• 3. Reference- optional
• 4. Recipient’s address (TO)
• 5. Salutation- Dear Sir/Madam
• 6. subject- the topic of the letter should be written in a phrase form
• 7. Body
• 8. Complimentary close- with regards, With best wishes
• 9. Signature
• 10. Enclosures (if any)
 Body of a letter
The body of a letter consists of 3 parts:
• A) Opening- the opening paragraph will state the main idea
• B) Middle- It will begin by justifying the importance of the
main point, and the next few paragraphs may contain more
information and supporting details.
• C) Closing- It will restate the purpose of the letter and what
action the writer wants the reader to take.
 5 C’s of business letters
• 1. Clarity- A clearly written letter is one that is understood by
the reader. Clarity can be achieved by using simple, familiar
and specific words.
E.g. 1) “ With reference to your inquiry last week, we would
like to inform you that the information that you
want can be sent within a week.”
Revised version
“ Thank you for your April 14 letter, asking about our 2005
training schedule. We would send you the schedule by April 28.”
 5 C’s of a business letter
2. Courtesy- A good business letter must reflect courtesy and consideration.
Positive and encouraging phrases should be used. Rude, harsh expressions must
be avoided.
E.g: 1) “ You must send the refund amount to me at the address below.”
(words are not polite)
“Please send me the refund amount at the address below.” (revised
version)
3. Conciseness- Business letters should be concise and direct. Unnecessary words
and repetitions should be avoided. Direct language should be used to avoid
confusion and misunderstanding.
E.g. 1) “It should be clear to everyone that there should be no doubt about
the fact that the company would never be the one that encourages
incompetence and lethargy.”(no of words 28)
“ The company does not encourage incompetence and lethargy”(8 words)
 5 C’s of a Business letter
4. Correct Tone- Tone in a business letter refers to the manner in which
information is conveyed.
• It is important to use a tone appropriate to the situation and
according to the needs of the readers.
• A negative tone can lead to misunderstanding, resulting in a
negative response from the reader.
• Therefore, the tone should be formal and positive.
Eg : 1)“ As we have given the job to another candidate, we cannot
entertain your application.” (negative tone)
“Thank you for your application for a sales position in our
company. However, the position has already been filled.
Nevertheless, we have kept your resume for future use.” ( positive
tone)
 5 C’s of a business letter
5. Correct Attitude- refers to the reflection of the opinion of the writer on the
reader.
• The writer has to analyze the communicative context in which he/she is
writing the letter.
• Use “you attitude” instead of “I attitude”
Egs: 1)“ As you do not have a current account in our bank, we cannot
process your request”
“ Please open a current account in our bank so that we are able to
process your request” (revised version)
2) “We will not be able to process your order because your business
terms are too vague and unacceptable to us.”
“ Please send us your specific and clear business terms so that we can
process your order.” ( Revised version)
 Types of Letters
• Inquiry letters- letters written to individuals,
organizations or institutions for getting some
information (regarding training courses or
availability of some products)
• Letters placing orders: letters written for placing
orders for goods/products.
• Complaint letters: letters written for expressing
dissatisfaction over something be it a wrong
billing, a defective product, bad service, warranty
problems and so on.
 Exercise
1. Assume that you are Mr. Rahul and you wish to take a car loan from
State Bank of India. Write a letter to the Chief Manager, SBI Branch of your
locality requesting him/her to send you all the information related to SBI car
loans.
2. Assume that you are Anil Saxena, the Purchase Manager of Alpha
Engineering Company, Salt lake City, Kolkata. Your company sent an order for
15 HP Scanners to National Systems Limited, Electronics City, Hosur Road,
Bangalore- 560110 on March 21, 2021, but you received only 12 scanners.
Write a letter to Suresh Gautam, the GM(Sales and Marketing), National
Systems Limited making a complaint and asking him to send the remaining 3
scanners.